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Ed. note: This post is part of the second round of the Feministing “So You Think You Can Blog” contributor contest (background here). Stay tuned all week as our six finalists take turns turns covering the blog and giving us a sense of their personal contributor style. The winner of the contest and newest member of the Feministing team will be announced next week!

In the video below, novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice — and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.

Not only is Chimamanda Adichie hilarious, she makes a hugely important point about how we look at the narratives of non-Western people. How many times have you heard about someone doing volunteer work in “Africa” or how someone speaks “Chinese?” It’s easy to view people from the Global South as one monolithic group of “poor people,” or “people who need our help,” and yet the reality is vastly more nuanced, dynamic, and beautiful.
The single story is something I struggle with in my educational philosophy, as well in my academic work. I’ve shown this video to several of my social studies classes, and find many elements of my pedagogy reflected in Adichie’s talk. But I also worry that by neglecting the single story, or the traditional narrative, I’m doing my students a disservice. I remember a class I took in college, on the history of India. The class focused heavily on critiquing the traditional narrative of Indian history. The problem was, none of my classmates nor I knew anything about the traditional narrative. We were rebelling against something we had no idea of.

Is there a middle ground? Can we teach something other than the Single Story, especially in a world where most students are subjected to high-stakes tests that reward the students who learn the story and punish the students who question it? One solution I’ve found is to teach the Single Story (i.e. the textbook version) and then debunk and dismantle it with primary sources. But still, the Single Story is deeply seductive. It allows us exert minimum effort for maximum “knowledge:” we read one story and know the lives of millions of diverse people.

Our deep belief in the Single Story is what led to “Kony 2012” going viral, generations of parents reminding their kids of “starving children in Africa,” and the otherization and exocitization of people from the Global South. The real stories of people are mundane, glorious, tragic, and inspiring, if only we begin to acknowledge their existence.

Anayvette has over 15 years of experience working with nonprofits and youth. After feeling conflicted about her daughter’s desire to join the local Girl Scouts troop, Anayvette and her co-founder Marilyn Hollinquest created their own organization in Oakland that teaches young girls of color about social justice activism, from radical beauty to the environment and beyond.

The Radical _____ are currently electing their new name with leadership from their girls and ...

Congrats to Malala Yousafzai! Almost exactly two years after being shot by the Taliban for advocating for girls’ education, the 17-year-old Pakistani activist was awarded the Noble Peace Prize, which she shares with Indian children’s rights activist Kailash Satyarthi. She’s the youngest person ever to win it.

In a statement, the United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon said, “With her courage and determination, Malala has shown what terrorists fear most: a girl with a book.”

Congrats to Malala Yousafzai! Almost exactly two years after being shot by the Taliban for advocating for girls’ education, the 17-year-old Pakistani activist was awarded the Noble Peace Prize, which she shares with Indian children’s rights activist Kailash ...

It’s Back-to-School time — or if you’re out of school, “Holy Shit I’m Old” time! Before we get too ahead in our Tuesday (and thus, the recognition there is no legitimate reason for us to go school supply shopping), let’s take some time to meet some young feminist leaders — here’s to the Class of Being Awesome!

Jazz

Jazz is a transgender girl advocate who has shared her story with the world since 2007 with a 20/20 Barbara Walters special. Jazz and her family started the Transkids Purple Rainbow Foundation — an organization that offers resources and advice to trans kids and their families. For those of us who have been following Jazz’s activism for some years, it is very ...

It’s Back-to-School time — or if you’re out of school, “Holy Shit I’m Old” time! Before we get too ahead in our Tuesday (and thus, the recognition there is no legitimate reason for us to go school ...